The need for federal government to protect local airlines have again been brought to the fore. As such, stakeholders under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), commended the government for standing resolute in the recent standoff with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), urging more reciprocal actions to tilt the balance of aviation politics in favour of Nigeria.
Recalled that the federal government had reduced Emirates Airlines’ 21 slots a week to just one, in reciprocity of similar treatment meted to Nigerian carrier, Air Peace airline that requested for three slots but got only one slot a week. In response, Emirates Airlines pulled out of the Nigerian route indefinitely.
However, UAE has modified its stance on welcoming Air Peace airline into the Arab country, with approval of seven weekly slots into the Dubai International Airport, Dubai. Chairman of the AON, Abdulmunaf Yinusa, commended the Minister of Aviation to reciprocate with equal measures the treatment meted out to the Nigerian airline.
Yinusa said: “AON is not unmindful of the leading roles the Minister played in getting our dear President to sign the Customs Duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) waivers into law, immediately the National Assembly passed the bill.
“By the recent reciprocal actions undertaken by the Federal Government, national sense of pride and belief in Nigeria rose to an all-time high.”
He clarified that they were not opposed to other foreign airlines operating in Nigeria, but “we frown at the underhand actions of these airlines and their countries in making it difficult for Nigerian airlines to get the necessary permits to operate in their countries.
“We encourage the Federal Government to continue to reciprocate in equal measures against any country that tries, in any manner whatsoever, to disrespect our sovereignty again,” the AON stated.
Similarly, after an emergency zonal meeting in Kano recently, Hajj tour operators lamented that the recent travel restriction placed by the Saudi government on Nigeria has caused huge job losses and disrupted economic activities of stakeholders in the industry. Chairman of the association, Abdulaziz Halliru, and Secretary of the zone, Haruna Isma’il, regretted that over 1,500 visas and flight tickets were affected by the abrupt suspension of direct flight to Saudi Arabia.
The operators were worried that pilgrims had been left hanging and in disarray, expressing disappointment at the position of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to allegedly disown the Umrah pilgrims.
In a communiqué, the association stated: “We note with great concern the disruption of travel plans the suspension has caused to our teeming clients and other travelling public, most especially as the action has come during the holiday season and hope that the situation will not last longer than necessary.
“We observed with grave apprehension the potential losses the situation will bring to the economy in general, the travel and tourism value chain in particular, through visa expiration, accommodation and transport cancellation in Makkah and Madinah as well as flight ticket no-show and other miscellaneous charges running into millions of Naira.
“The meeting took a preliminary stock of the established loss, which runs into over a billion Naira as gathered from members in the zone alone. There were more than 1,500 issued and unused visas and tickets affected by the abrupt suspension of direct flight to Saudi Arabia,” the communiqué read in part.
In the main time, Aviation Workers called off its planned industrial action following an agreement on a new date for the implementation of the controversial Condition of Service (CoS) and adjustment of minimum wage of staffers in the sector.
The workers’ unions, at a meeting with the Federal Government in Abuja, reached a consensus on approval, release and implementation of the reviewed CoS latest March 31, 2022. The coalition of aviation workers’ unions had last week threatened to embark on strike in protest against delays in the implementation of new CoS and attendant review of staff welfare in all agencies of the sector.
The aggrieved workers said the CoS had been due for review since 2013 and the delay was not unconnected with the government’s non-committal to workers’ welfare and conspicuous absence of governing boards of directors at the agencies.
At the emergency meeting, at the behest of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and aviation unions that included members of National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), agreed on urgent and far-reaching implementation of outstanding welfare policies.
On the issue of non-implementation of the minimum wage/consequential adjustment, the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), was requested to issue a Service Wide Circular informing all organisations in the public and private sectors that they are bound to implement the wage and adjustment, while the Ministry of Aviation is to circulate same to all agencies under its supervision, requesting them to implement it without further delay and also clarify that the payment became effective from April 18, 2019, when the minimum wage was signed into law.
The meeting agreed that those that have exited the system during the period to date would also be paid arrears.
On the approval or release of the reviewed conditions of service of the agencies under the Ministry of Aviation, the meeting agreed that the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS) would resolve the financial aspect for Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by the third week of February.
In the case of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMeT), the meeting was informed that the financial implication has been approved by the PCS and the implementation process has been concluded except for hazard allowances, which would be reconsidered by the NSWIWC on a sectoral level.
Similarly, Air Peace has revealed plans to resume direct flights to Dubai, United Arab Emirates on March 1, 2022. This is as the airline is also set to expand its West Coast presence by launching flight operations into Niamey, Niger, on February 25, 2022, as well as Kinshasha and Malabo in Quarter 1, 2022. The airline stated that Lagos-Dubai-Lagos flights would operate three days weekly from any of its domestic routes through its Lagos hub.
“We are happy to inform the flying public that in tandem with our commitment to providing more flight connectivity and meeting the air travel needs of Nigerians, we are restarting our UAE operations, but with Dubai as the destination and not Sharjah. We appreciate the vital role played by the Nigerian government in making this possible,” Air Peace said.
The airline stated that before the first quarter runs out, “we shall commence scheduled flights to Kinshasa in DR Congo and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, to enlarge our footprints in West Africa and offer the flying public more network options”, adding that Niamey flights will operate from Abuja and Kano on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays with the Hopper jets.
Air Peace has been operating scheduled commercial flights into the UAE since July, 2019, and added that it would continue to scale up its service delivery to surpass the expectations of air travelers, especially with the activation of its ambitious fleet modernisation scheme and a renewed commitment to unequalled customer experience.
The airline has also been designated by the Federal Government to fly into other international destinations such as Guangzhou, China; Delhi, India; UK and Houston, US.